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Kilmarnock 2 Hibernian 1: Naismith magic stuns Hibs

THE decisive moment came so suddenly, so irrepressibly out of nothing, that even Steven Naismith cannot remember its contours. The Kilmarnock forward collected the ball on the right wing, then ran vividly at the Hibernian defence and wriggled past David Murphy, Rob Jones and Michael Stewart in the penalty area before prodding a shot through the legs of Simon Brown, the goalkeeper. “I’ll have to watch it back to try to remember it,” he grinned impudently. It was a joyously uninhibited contribution.

Naismith’s goal, so late in the game that the visitors could barely muster enough momentum to answer back, was a piece of individualism, yet it owed much to the promptings of another. Jim Jefferies moved Naismith from the left flank to the right only five minutes before, and then barracked him in his inimitable style for not taking his marker on. The execution was typically, sassily Naismith’s though.